I had a difficult time narrowing down what I wanted to say in this post, but after a while one idea kept bubbling to the top: my love affair with light. I feel like understanding light is one of the key elements to making your photographs sing.
I love light! I knew I loved light at a young age, before I even knew I would become a photographer. As a child, I would lie near windows and let the sun warm my legs while I drew or read. Light to me means knowledge, birth, life, and growth. Light causes me to breathe in extra deep; it wakes me up from slumbers of sameness and doubt. In photography, light paints the emulsions of film, exposes the pixels on a tiny sensor, and relays a live image to a still frame.
The light itself is magnificent, but what makes light dance is its counterpart darkness. Important in its own right, light is nothing without the darkness. I need darkness, but only because it gives shape to light.
This concept of light and dark and their beautiful marriage runs through my own life. I enjoy the good and the beautiful, but it’s the sadness, the hurt, and the daily disappointments that make me recognize joy, warm moments, and the relief that comes with contentment and progress. Because of the dark, my good moments are illuminated and are more vibrant because they are met with contrast.
Seek light- watch the way it moves across the room, how it falls over the earth, how it mixes with darkness and makes shadows. Once you are familiar with the movement and the effects of light in an environment, then you can create the ideal photograph. Learn when you need more or less light. Learn how to manipulate it to soften a harsh face or increase shadow for more drama or visual tension. Forming and controlling both light and dark in your work is much like creating a sculpture. You should be asking yourself these types of questions: Where do I want the viewer’s eyes to fall in my frame? How do I want the viewer to feel when they see my work? How do I want to tell my stories?
I love light; it is my dearest romance. These two elements of light and shadow, good and bad, are what shape me in my personal life and how I see what I photograph. The ability to understand and control light and darkness and express intention and mood in the photograph is core to my art. Because I am a photographer, I struggle to explain this in words and I think my photos speak for themselves. Being able to express my mood in photographs is equal to writing in a journal, but for me, it feels much better.
- Jessica | Jessica Peterson Photography
(Portrait of Jessica by Yan Palmer)
Our “What I Have to Say” Wednesday series features established photographers and artists with messages they just can’t keep inside. Authentically and honestly, our writers share words of wisdom to challenge, encourage, and inspire.